


Do you really trust me?

by Allthejohndave



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: mainly a story about trust, not really focused on any relationship, trust is a huge theme up in this fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-06-16 22:17:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15447051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allthejohndave/pseuds/Allthejohndave
Summary: How far can trust go when the foundation of a partnership is based on keeping a secret?A story in which the miraculous heroes test how much they can really trust each other.





	1. Blindfolds

**Author's Note:**

> Sup y'all, it's ya girl back with some more ML. This is my first attempt at multichapter fic so bear with me please. Is it bear or bare... who knows? Anyways, I would really appreciate feedback. Like really. PLEASE COMMENT. I need people telling me what's up with my fic. I really want to finish this but.. I might lack motivation if no one cares to comment. I really hope you guys enjoy this. I don't want to end this chapter on a cliff hanger so it's a bit.. short? 
> 
> ~ enjoy!
> 
> edit: I just changed some grammar and stuff. Someone pointed it out to me, if anyone sees any issues please feel free to let me know! English is my first language, yet my worst!

~POV: Chat Noir/Adrien.

“Chat this is so ridiculous!” Ladybug giggled as she grabbed the blindfold Chat Noir handed her.

“Come on my lady! It’ll be fun! Besides, it gives our kwami’s time to hang out. They hardly get to spend time together,” pleaded Chat Noir, giving the best sad cat eyes he could manage. 

Ladybug was sitting across from him on a rooftop in the middle of the night. Chat had asked Ladybug if she would be willing to spare a few hours of her Friday night to hang out with him after their patrol. She had nothing better to do, so Ladybug agreed and was now sitting a few feet away, trying to convince him that they should _not_ detransform with only blindfolds on. 

He took one more shot with his kitty eyes, “ _Pwweeassee_ Ladybug, my kwami really misses yours.”

“Okay. Fine. Let’s do it. But only under one condition.” 

“And what would that be my lady?” Chat asked enthusiastically. 

“We have to sit with our backs against each other. To ensure there are no sneak peaks.”

“That works for me! Whatever makes you more comfortable,” Chat was already starting to tie his blindfold behind his head. They both turned and now had their backs leaning on one another. 

“Ready Chat?” Ladybug asked hesitantly. 

“I was born ready.” 

He heard Ladybug giggle as she let transformation go first, “Spots off.” 

“Claws in,” he said softly. 

Adrien was now breathing hard. This was the moment he has been waiting for. He moved his position to sit on his butt bone with his legs crisscrossed. He took a deep breath, to try to calm his nerves. His mind was racing with thousands of thoughts and worries. He settled on the worry screaming at him louder than the others. 

“Do you still have your blindfold on Ladybug?” 

“Yes,” she replied shyly. 

“Great. Promise me you won’t take it off?” he felt himself tense more. He was letting his worries speak before he had a chance to think about what he wanted to say. 

Ladybug laughed, “Hey, isn’t that my line?”

He stiffened slightly and sighed, “Yeah I know. I guess I’m just a bit worried.”

“What is there to be worried about kitty? We can’t see each other and the blindfolds stayed on us,” Ladybug spoke softly, almost a whisper. Hearing her sweet voice, he calmed his breathing. 

“Well, it’s so much more real now. I’ve dreamt of this moment. Where we both would have our masks off.” Adrien stopped talking, he needed to collect his thoughts in order to not spill any information that he knew shouldn’t.

Tikki sensed a heartfelt conversation brewing. She gave a quick hug to Ladybug’s cheek then flew towards Plagg. “Come on Plagg,” she grabbed his paw, “let’s give them some privacy.” Plagg whined about not being able to grab some cheese on their way out of hearing range. 

“Hmm. I see… What has you worried then?” Ladybug finally spoke up. 

“I suppose the reality of it all. What if I am not what you expect me to be like?” 

She scoffed behind him, feeling her shoulders jerk in the process, “If anyone should be worried about not being up to par with their superhero personas, it should be me Chat. Trust me on that.”

“I doubt it. I’m sure you’re just as brave and amazing when you’re not Ladybug. For me, I just live a life that everyone else expects for me. I am just an image I have to keep up. I can't be myself when I want to be. I don’t get to be so open and free like I am as Chat Noir,” Adrien confessed. He took a deep sigh, in hope that this new information would not change Ladybug’s view of him. 

“It's not fun being Ladybug. I understand the responsibility I have to be her, I'm not complaining about that. But the real me it not as great as Ladybug is. She’s on such a high pedestal. I can’t compete with that as my civilian self. She’s this fearless leader, strong, and quick on her feet. Maybe I do have some of that when I’m myself, but it really has a lot to do with our suits and the magic it harnesses.” Adrien felt Ladybug lean heavier on his back. He felt a weight lift off his shoulders. 

He realized he didn’t respond. He was too busy with his own thoughts.

Adrien nodded in agreement, with the hope that she felt his movement. He realized he is one of the people who has idolized her. Having heard her speak about how she truly feels about her hero life versus her own opened up a part of his mind he didn't know he had. She has felt trapped in her Ladybug image just like how he feels trapped holding the Agreste name.

Maybe he _was_ subconsciously expecting this amazing girl under the mask to be exactly like Ladybug. He immediately felt guilty. He said he would love the girl under the mask, whoever she is. But he had created a rather large pedestal for her that has leaked over to her civilian side. 

Regardless of how she felt about her civilian self, he knew that she was stronger than she thinks. To keep hold of her image as Ladybug takes a lot of courage and strength. He shook his head, knowing he shouldn't argue his feelings about it and simply take in what she's opened up with him. 

He pulled out his lucky charm from his pocket and began fidgeting with it. He didn’t know where to lead the conversation and was beginning to feel even more nervous with every moment passing. 

“What are you doing?” Ladybug asked. 

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t think you would feel that. It’s uh... It’s this charm that I got from a good friend of mine. I just needed something to focus on I guess, so I took it out to play around with it. It’s weird not being able to see right now so I’m settling for something I can feel,” Adrien laughed. 

“That’s sweet Chat. What’s school like for you? You don’t have to name anyone obviously. But might as well talk about something right?” 

They spent a few more hours talking about school, hobbies, hobbies they want to pick up, and their dreams for the future. They danced around subjects that could reveal who they are, yet also learn more about each other. 

~ POV: Marinette.

Marinette started to feel a yawn build up inside her. 

“Hey Tikki?!” she called out for her kwami. 

“Yeah?” Tikki came up to her side as fast as she could and sat on her right shoulder. 

“Can you check my phone and see what time it is?” 

“Umm. It’s 1 right now. Guess time flies by when we are having fun huh?” Tikki giggled.

“Wow! Um. Chat, I know it’s a Friday but I’m actually a bit tired. Maybe we can do this again another time?” Marinette sat up and started to push herself to a standing position.

“Yeah! Of course! Thanks for doing this though. I know you’re serious about our identities.” she heard Chat Noir shifting behind her. 

“It really is important you know! It’s about all of our safeties!” Tikki exclaimed.

“Nah, don’t worry kid. She’s just exaggerating.” Plagg finally emerged to the roof.

“I guess I see now why you don’t think it’s such a big deal Chat,” Marinette chuckled. “Well, it was fun! See you later! Tikki, spots on!”

As her transformation takes hold, she starts to untie her blindfold, keeping her back towards Chat Noir. “I’ll also just take the blindfold with me, if this is something we end up doing a lot, I might as well keep it handy on me.” 

Chat transformed as she spoke, “Yeah that makes sense, sleep well bugaboo!” 

“You too kitty” 

~ POV: Adrien.

Adrien sneaked back into his room through his window, unknowing that his father’s assistant keeps an eye on the surveillance screens to document his “nightly escapades”. 

He detransforms and grabs some cheese out of his mini fridge for Plagg. After setting out the plate of cheese for his kwami, he changes into his pajamas. “Wow, Plagg was tonight great! How was your time with Tikki?”

“It was cool. I always enjoy my time with her,” Plagg smiled as he chomped on his cheese. 

Adrien smiled at his little god. “Plagg, do you ever feel like Tikki is around when we are at school?”

“Uhhh... I can’t really answer that kid.” Plagg, having eaten enough for the night, was now sitting on the pillow next to Adrien.

“Why not? I would think you’d be able to sense her around?” 

Plagg thought about Tikki and how seriously she takes the chosen’s identity. “I just can’t tell you. Tikki wouldn’t be happy with me. I am not risking my lovely Tikki for your game of ‘guess who Ladybug is’”. 

“Fine,” Adrien now laid on his back, staring at his ceiling. “I’m just glad she seems to be happier around me.” 

"If you start talking about your love for her again I will bring my cheese with me into this bed Adrien! Don't test me!" Plagg whined.

"Okay! Okay! I hear you! I'm gonna sleep now, don't worry," Adrien laughed. He turned to his side and began to drift to sleep.

~ meanwhile ~ POV: Nathalie

Nathalie knocked on Gabriel’s office door, knowing he was still awake working on his new designs for the upcoming season. 

“Enter.” 

“He just arrived home. He was out longer than usual for their patrols.” Nathalie was now standing next to the desk Gabriel was working on. 

Gabriel looked at the clock on his computer and frowned. “It’s past 1 am. This is getting out of control. We need to take his miraculous away. I cannot risk him getting injured.” Gabriel, obviously frustrated, is now standing leaning back on the edge of his desk with one arm folded across his chest, the other pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Sir, it is not wise to do that right now. He will know that it had to be someone here. If Hawk Moth announces that the miraculous is in his possession, Adrien will be able to conclude that we are working against him.” They’ve had this conversation many times. Each ending with Nathalie convincing him that it will only bring more problems for them. It was getting tiring. 

Gabriel looked at his assistant, “If my son gets hurt, it will be on you.” Nathalie nodded at his threat. 

“You may leave now.” With that, Nathalie left his office to finally go to sleep. 

_I really hope this kid knows how to keep himself from getting hurt,_ Natalie spoke to herself as she entered her room. Even though she actively works with Gabriel to retrieve the miraculous' she has grown fond of Adrien. She has done what she can to keep Gabriel from making rash decisions, but her trust in his ability to control himself is slowly fading away.


	2. Another Day, Another Akuma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second chapter! I used my own nephews and niece for the names in this one, and I think my favorite part of that is when I told them, Michael said "Oh no! Not Abby! Anything but Abby as a villain!" What happens here is usually what happens when all the kids get together. 
> 
> For reference, I want to explain what I think Queen Bee does. I imagine her with wings, able to fly around at ease. For her weapon, I imagine she has a dart shooter type weapon. But instead of darts, she shoots out little bee stingers. These stingers do not harm whoever they hit, they simply absorb into the person and slows them. She can freely shoot out as many as she wants but once the fifth one has been shot, her timer starts on her comb. 
> 
> I also added when I change POV. I hope it makes it an easier read. And if it's not clear, this is set a year ahead of where the show is at right now :)
> 
> Enjoy~

~POV: Marinette.

Marinette practically skipped her way into her seat early Monday morning. This was one of the rare Mondays where she had slept a sufficient amount, along with completing her homework in a timely manner.

She sat next to her best friend Alya with a warm smile on her face. “Wow! Is the sky falling?! What’s got you here _early_ Mari??”

“It’s a miracle, right? Especially since today is Monday!” Marinette giggled. “I just had a good and productive weekend that’s all.”

Alya gave her friend a puzzled look as if she was trying to read between lines that weren’t drawn. “What was so important all weekend? You missed our movie date on Friday and didn’t even have the courtesy to give me deets on what caused you to flake.” Alya was now completely facing Marinette, with her legs now in the space in between their two chairs.

“Well… we had a big order at the bakery. I had to learn how to pipe these beautiful grey to yellow ombre flowers. It was honestly really hard to get the ombre to match all around the cupcakes and cakes. But papa needed an extra hand while momma was working the cash register. Between the order and homework, I didn’t really have time to text you or anyone at all! I swear! We barely sent out the order this morning.” Marinette put on her best act, hoping after all these lies she’s told to her friends and parents that she has become unreadable.

Alya stared intensely at Marinette, only flickering her eyesight from one of Marinette’s eyes to the other. “If I ask your dad about this, would he describe to me this exact order that apparently captivated you both all weekend long??” She continued to stare at Marinette, to catch any fault in her gaze.

Marinette opened her mouth with a slight gasp, trying to think of any and every way she could get her father into this mess of a lie.

The truth was that her parents thought she _was_ at the movies on Friday. And there was _not_ a large order for grey and yellow flowers this weekend either.  
Marinette decided to give a weak smile instead, hoping that her sheepish look satisfied Alya’s inquiry.

“I’m just kidding girl, I know I can trust you. Even if that’s not exactly what went down this weekend, I trust that something really important happened that you couldn’t hang with us. Besides, Adrien didn’t show up either so it ended up being a nice date between me and Nino. I think I prefer our dates without our two single friends if you know what I mean,” Alya wiggled her eyebrows with a smirk.

Marinette’s heartbeat settled as she listened to Alya put faith in her. She shoved Alya softly with both of her hands, “I don’t want to know what you and Nino do alone Alya! Plus, you were in public!! In a movie theatre!! What could have you guys done? Wait- don’t even tell me what happened. I don’t want to have an image of it in my head. What else did you do this weekend?”

Alya laughed hard, “Not much girl. There were no akuma attacks this weekend so I was actually able to do some homework! I came a bit early today though to finish up some physics problems.”

“Ugh, physiiiicss… don’t remind me. That took up most of my weekend. But I finished everything, even if most of it probably isn’t right. I also had some down time to design a new jacket! Want to see?” Marinette’s face lit up as she remembered her newly inspired jacket from the anniversary of the akuma attack in her own home. 

Troublemaker surely was one of the scariest moments when it came down to her miraculous actually being taken off of her body. But she couldn’t help herself think of the elaborate black and pink patterns that inspired her to design her very first punk rock jacket.

Alya gave Marinette a sincere smile, “You know you don’t have to ask me twice!”  
As the girls looked excitedly at Marinette’s newest project, Chloe walked into the classroom with Sabrina. They both smiled at Alya and Marinette and greeted them good morning.

It’s been almost a full year since Ladybug and Chat Noir chose Chloe to become Queen Bee. Marinette was hesitant at first, Chloe didn’t show any signs of changing her rude and obnoxious personality over the many years she has known her. But to Marinette’s surprise, Chloe has taken her new role seriously. She has had her ups and downs, but overall Chloe has shown immense improvement. And to Marinette’s delight, Chloe has trickled her Queen Bee personality into her normal everyday life. Marinette might even now consider Chloe a _friend._

“What did you design now Mari?” Chloe asked as she leaned onto Marinette’s and Alya’s desk trying to get a closer look at Marinette’s design book.

Marinette pushed her book to the edge of the desk to give Chloe a better look, “It’s a punk rock jacket. I got inspired by troublemakers design. You know, it’s been a year since she attacked everyone in my house? It’s so funny, I never let my mom forget how she almost attacked the camera crew with a pizza peel!” Marinette laughed as she looked at Chloe’s face for a reaction to her design.

“I like the pink. It doesn’t take over the design so it keeps it punk. Oh, by the way, did you guys understand the physics homework? Sabrina and I couldn’t figure out number 7.” Chloe reached into her bag to take out the homework. 

Marinette remembered when Sabrina made a huge fuss over Chloe asking her to stop doing her homework. It caused them to not speak to each other for almost a week before they made up. It seemed like their solution to it was to do the homework together at Chloe’s rather than Sabrina doing both of theirs.

Sabrina joined them after putting her own bag down at her desk. The four girls talked about the tedious problem until class started.

~POV: Abigail.

Tuesday evening Abigail was visiting her grandma as her mom had to work overtime that night. Abigail loved to visit her grandparents, with her family living in Versailles she doesn’t get to see them as often as she wanted. Her grandparents picked her up from her daycare in Paris on days like this. 

Along with seeing her grandparents, she also got to play with her five cousins who frequently visited them. 

However, being the only granddaughter comes with a price.

As usual, her cousins ignored her. Taunting her with their words saying, “Crabby Abby is here!” “We don’t play with girls.” “Go play with your dolls, Crabby Abby.”

Tonight, one cousin had a bright idea.

“Hey Abby, want to play hide and go seek with us?” Anthony asked her.  
Abigail’s face lit up with excitement, “Yes I do!! Who is it?”

“Isaiah will be it. So we all just have to hide. He will probably find Aiden first so don’t worry about losing first.” Anthony started to walk away, looking for his own hiding place.

Abigail was beyond ecstatic, she finally got the chance to play a game with her cousins and she was determined not to lose.

She found her hiding place in her grandparents walk-in closet. She heard Isaiah counting downstairs. So she hid and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Then she heard her cousins laughing, she thought they finally found someone. But she then heard the familiar sounds of Mario Brothers playing on the TV.

She started to get mad, she left her hiding spot and walked to the source of the game. She found her cousins playing the video game in the extra room her grandparents transformed into a toy room.

“What the heck guys?! I thought we were playing hide and seek?!” Abigail yelled, trying to keep her tears from falling out of frustration.

“Do you guys hear something?” Alfonso asked, clearly implying that they were not going to pay Abigail any attention.

“Alfonso I think you need to get your ears checked, I didn’t hear anything!” Michael replied laughing.

All five of her cousins laughed in sync.

“Why are you guys so rude!” Abigail screamed as she walked towards the door to leave the room, unable to stop herself from crying. Before she left she saw her prize in front of the door. Aiden’s favorite blue and white blanket with a Disneyland castle print, his night-night. She grabbed it hastily and left the room.

She cuddled the blanket as she walked into her grandparents' room. She sat herself down in the far corner from the door and cried into it.

“Ah, a perfect night for an akuma. A sweet child who only wants to play with her cousins who ignore her continuously.” Hawk Moth announced to himself and his butterflies.

The newly evilized butterfly flew into her grandparents' room through the open window to her right. The little butterfly landed on the blanket gracefully.

“Dissolver, my name is Hawk Moth. I can grant you the ability to make anyone in your life disappear. All I ask in return is for you to bring me Chat Noir and Ladybug miraculouses."

“Yes, Hawk Moth.” Abigail and the blanket were consumed with the black and purple power of the akuma. 

Dissolver now emerged wearing her new outfit, a simple pink and purple dress with tattered ends, her dirty blonde hair in a high ponytail. In her hand, the night-night was now a bright blue, clearly her weapon.

She walked towards her cousins in the other room, “Boys, would you like to play hide and seek with me again?” she asked with a soft voice.

“Go away Abby, we are busy!” Anthony said annoyed, his eyes fixated on the TV.

“Abby! That’s my night-night! What happened?!” Aiden asked from his spot behind his cousins and brothers. He recognized his night-night from the castle print.

Abigail suddenly disappeared before his eyes. “Abby?” Aiden said with a quiver in his voice.

“Guys… something is wrong with Abby.” Aiden was pushing his brother Michael to grab his attention.

“Aiden stop, I’m trying to focus,” Michael said pushing his little brother away from him.

Dissolver revealed herself, now standing in front of the TV.

“My name is Dissolver! You treat Aiden just as bad! You are all rude! GO AWAY” she yelled as she whipped the blanket in front of her hitting every one of her cousins. They all disappeared in an instant.

“This is going to be fun!” Dissolver giggled as she disappeared once again, heading out of the house to cause more trouble around Paris to lure out the city's precious heroes.

~ POV: Chat Noir/Adrien.

Tuesday evening snuck up on him fast. With his back to back photo shoots and piles of homework, Adrien finally had free time. He started up his console and sat back on his couch to enjoy some much-needed video game time.

He was enjoying his video games for barely a half hour when the text came in.

_LB <3 - “Akuma sighted near the Eiffel Tower. This one needs all of us.”_

He sighed. He was thankful for the bright idea of a group chat on a free texting app for their hero group. Using the app enabled them to have different numbers than their real phones to keep their identities hidden.

Although Adrien didn’t think it was fair, he and Ladybug knew the identities of the others but Ladybug insisted the others couldn’t find out theirs. Not wanting to cause a useless argument, he simply agreed with her. But if anyone was to ask his real opinion, he would tell them in a heartbeat.

Adrien turned off his console and TV. With a frown he walked over to his kwami who was sitting on his computer desk. “Come on Plagg, another akuma.”

“Really? I finally get some time to be out of your pocket and _now_ Hawk Moth wants to come out?” Plagg whined.

“Yeah, I hear you buddy. Claws out!”

~

Chat Noir landed on the usual rendezvous platform in the Eiffel Tower. He was the last of the group to arrive.

“About time you came Chat.” Queen Bee was clearly annoyed at his tardiness.

“Not all of us have wings bumblebee.” Chat replied with a playful tone in his voice.

Rena, ignoring their banter, walked to Chat with a nervous look on her face. “Chat, this akuma is able to go invisible. If she touches you with her blanket, you’ll disappear. We cannot afford anyone getting touched this time.”

It was clear her words were directed to his mistakes. Throughout his time being Chat Noir, he has been hit by akuma attacks plenty of times. Leaving Ladybug to fend for herself for the majority of the time. Now with 3 other miraculous holders, it has been harder for them to single anyone out. If the akuma was successful in doing so, more than likely it was Chat that got himself caught. 

“She’s right, we need to keep an eye out for each other. We have to watch each other’s backs. Try to stick near each other this time too. I’m more than sure that the butterfly is in her blanket. So only Chat can destroy it.” Ladybug started to lay out a game plan.

“Rena, you could create an illusion to make her come out of her invisibility. Bee you'll slow her as she starts to attack the illusion, then Chat uses cataclysm on the blanket. If things go wrong, then I’ll use my charm and Carapace you can use your shield whenever it seems necessary. Got it?” Ladybug asked.

It was time-consuming to have to plan everything out and discuss it. But ever since the newcomers became permanent, Chat noticed that they couldn’t keep up with their plans and often interrupted his and Ladybug’s synchronization. After one close call, when Bee almost got herself hit when revealing her location too soon, Chat told Ladybug she needed to lay out her plan before each run in.

“Seems simple enough.” Carapace shrugged and he started to position himself to look out for the akuma.

“Okay guys, see that roof? Let’s fight there.” Chat pointed to a nearby building.  
The hero group situated themselves on the roof. Hiding in different locations while Rena lured out the akuma.

“Hey kid!! I have Chat Noir and Ladybug up here with me! Come and find us!” Rena yelled out from the edge of the roof.

Chat was hidden behind an air conditioning unit when he saw the akuma show herself in the center of the roof.

“My name is Dissolver! Where is the miraculous!?” She demanded.

He saw Rena pick up her flute from the side of his vision as clones of the group appeared around the child.

He whispered for his cataclysm to form on his hand.

Bee’s turn was up, she needed to slow the akuma so he had time to jump on her and touch the blanket before she hit him with it.

He was getting impatient, the akuma had touched both Carapace and Bee clones with her blanket. He was thankful she didn’t think twice about the orange smoke that appeared after she made them “disappear”. 

He wanted to be home.

“Forget it, she’s taking too long” Chat whispered to himself.

He launched himself forward towards the akuma, who had her back facing him. Just a few inches away from her and the blanket. A few inches away from being able to go home.

But she turned around and saw him. She disappeared before he could reach the blanket.

Chat didn’t have time to react, he was now lunging himself to another air conditioning unit. He rolled onto his back with a grunt, “dammit”.

He cataclysmed the A/C. He looked over to Bee as he stood up, “What took you so long Bee?! I could have had it!”

Bee gave him a dirty look, “Why didn’t you wait your turn? I was waiting for her to turn so she wouldn't see me.”

“I just want this to be over with Bee. I finally had free time today, work faster when we get her back up here.” Chat started to walk towards the roof access door.

“Chat wait! We don’t know where she is!” yelled a concerned Ladybug.

“I have to recharge. I’ll be right back.” Chat brushed her off. His annoyance with the akuma present in his voice and gesture. 

He heard a child's giggle then the whip of Ladybug’s yo-yo behind him. He turned as fast as he could. But he saw nothing. He stood still, his eyes frantic to find the child.

“Chat, just walk backward, she almost got you.” Rena directed him annoyingly.  
Chat Noir, was moments away from his detransformation with his ring beeping frantically.

He was once again, walking to the stairway door but backward this time. Plagg needed to recharge, he needed to get away. It was all his mind could focus on.

His hand felt the wall behind him and dragged his hands along it to find the doorknob.

Then he felt nothing.

In a sudden moment, he felt his left side hit as he saw the akuma charging towards him.

His eyes focused on his teammate Carapace dodge the blanket that was thrown where he was just standing moments ago.

With his attention elsewhere, he didn’t feel his body moving. He didn’t feel his feet moving backward. He didn’t realize the edge of the roof was approaching.

He didn’t know he was falling until it was too late. Plagg couldn’t hold on any longer, Chat Noir was now Adrien falling to his doom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY FOR THE CLIFFHANGER. 
> 
> I have a plan for this fic but I don't want to spill it all out in one go!
> 
> If you see any issues or if you like something or anything please feel free to comment. It'll keep me motivated to continue writing.


	3. Cold Silver

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, guys. I am. In shock. 
> 
> First, thank you all for the comments. It really helps me as a writer. Not only to see how some of you react to my plot, or telling me what you liked, but also telling me the bitter truth about my English writing skills. 
> 
> Now I just want to say, I am so excited to learn the exact examples of when to use certain forms of past tense in English. I have been studying Spanish for nearly 5 years now, and one thing I have always loved to do was sit down and fuss over every tense and when to use them. If you were to ask me what is the 3rd person conjugation of a verb in the subjunctive mood in perfect past tense I can tell you in a heartbeat. Ask me what is something like that in English? I'd think you were crazy. But now I have found those things in English, and I will get to that level!
> 
> Secondly, I have updated chapter 1 now to be purely in one POV at a time. And I fixed up some issues I saw in chapter 2. So if you would like to reread that to have a clear reading for these 3 chapters, please feel free!
> 
> Lastly, if you still see more errors in my writing, please tell me. I've always known I am not the best writer, I'm more of an editor. (Although as proven before I'm not the best at saying _what tenses there are_ .) So please leave me comments again! It helps me tremendously  <3\. 
> 
> Enjoy! ~

~POV: Ladybug.

Her eyes focused on the akuma attacking Carapace. She watched him dodge swiftly, but her eyes were begging her to focus on something in the corner. 

She watched her longtime partner back away to the edge of the roof. Her eyes shifted back to Carapace and Dissolver, trying to come up with another plan on the spot. 

But then she saw the green flash of light as her partner fell off the roof. 

“NOOO! CHAT!!!” She cried out as she ran to the spot he fell from. 

With tears already forming and threatening to fall from her eyes she looked over the edge, holding her breath. 

Relieved she saw his blonde head, without his ears, as he hung onto a window sill. 

She turned around quickly to lock eyesight with Rena, “Take care of this! I have to help him!” 

She wrapped her yo-yo to a nearby A/C unit and rappelled herself down to the window where Chat was at. With tears still forming in her eyes, she slid into the window feet first, careful not to accidentally hit Chat. 

She turned and grabbed his arms as fast as she could, keeping her eyes shut fiercely. 

She lifted his body out of the window and into the room they were currently in. Breathing hard she grabbed his upper arms swallowing hard to stop herself from bursting into tears. 

“Are you okay Chat? Have you been hurt anywhere? Do you need me to get you something?” She spoke rapidly, needing to know her partner was okay. 

“Bugaboo… thank you… I’m okay. Physically I mean. I just. I’m sorry, I don’t know where my brain went. It’s just an off day I guess. I’ve been really stressed out lately.” Chat replied to her trying to ease her worries.

Ladybug relaxed her face slightly. She reached her hands up to Chat’s head and cupped his head behind his ears. She pulled his head down to hers and rested their foreheads against each other. Resting her elbows on his chest she realized how much she was shaking with fear.

“I was so worried Chat. Don’t ever do that again.” She whispered as her tears finally fell out of her eyes. 

She felt Chat put his arms around her waist, “I can’t make any promises my lady, but I can try.” 

They stood holding each other for a few moments. She let go of him and started to walk back to the window, her eyes still glued shut. 

“You have to hide to refuel your kwami, you can't let her find you Chat," Ladybug started to wind her yo-yo to launch herself back onto the roof. 

"And don't worry, I didn't see your face." 

She opened her eyes once she felt her feet touch down on the roof. 

She was taken back at the scene in front of her. Queen Bee was sitting on the floor braiding Rena’s hair. Carapace was fidgeting with his shell next to his force field that had Dissolver inside of it, clearly accepting her defeat. The blanket was on the floor next to Rena. 

Carapace made eye contact with Ladybug first, “Holy crap! LB! Where is Chat? Is he okay?” 

Now all the heroes had their eyes on her, she walked towards them trying to keep herself calm, “Yes he’s okay. Thankfully he caught himself on a window. He should be here in a moment.” 

She looked at Dissolver, “How did you guys manage this?” Ladybug asked, very impressed at the impromptu cage.

“Rena got her to focus on one of her illusions so I came up from behind her and scared her. She dropped the blanket and snapper here put her in her cage. She is a child still, so I figured she could get scared enough to throw whatever was in her hands.” Queen Bee shrugged. She finished the braid in Rena’s hair and stood up. 

Ladybug smiled at her, “Great work.” 

They all turned towards the roof access door creaked as Chat walked through it. 

“Hey guys!” Chat greeted them as he looked around at the scene. “Oh wow, how nice of you all to wait for me!”

Rena rolled her eyes, “We had no choice Chat. Let’s get this over with.”

Chat walked up to the blanket on the floor and used his cataclysm. 

Ladybug caught the butterfly that floated out of the now non-existent blanket. “Bye-bye little butterfly.” 

“Pound it?” Chat muttered shyly with a smile. 

Ladybug stared at him for a second before pulling him into a tight hug. “Go home and do whatever you do to help with stress. We really need you kitty.” 

He leaned himself back in their hug to look her in the eyes. He gave her a soft smile and hugged her tightly before separating their hug. 

He took that as his cue to leave.

Rena and Bee shared confused faces. 

Carapace broke the silence between them all and helped the child stand up. Once he figured out where she was before she was akumatized he took it upon himself to escort her to her grandparents. 

Ladybug threw her yo-yo into the air, “Miraculous ladybug!” 

She looked at Rena and Bee, hearing their miraculouses beeping. “Thanks for doing all of that today. I’m sure Chat will be back to normal by the next attack.” 

The three girls bid farewells as they separated in the directions of their respective homes. 

~ POV: Gabriel. 

They sat in his office watching the security cameras. On one channel they watched as Chat Noir entered Adrien’s room through his window. 

Gabriel stood, his muscles tense. “Nathalie. It is time.” He knew he didn’t have to explain to her what he needed her to do. What he _desperately_ needed from her. 

“Sir, I still do not think this is the best solution,” Nathalie argued. 

“How is this not! Nathalie, my son could have died! At the hands of my akuma!” Gabriel was raising his voice. His anger seeping out of every statement. 

“This is not acceptable anymore. I do not care if he puts it all together and figures out who I am. I highly doubt he will be capable of it. He can’t even figure out the identity of his precious Ladybug, yet there is only _one_ girl in his school who fits her description. My son needs to be protected.” Gabriel paced in his office. He was out of ideas. His akumas were not successful in retrieving the miraculouses, apparently they could only bring him near heart attacks. 

“I cannot afford to lose my son Nathalie. Once I get my hands on the Cat miraculous the rest will realize they cannot fight without him. They’ll hand over the Ladybug miraculous in return for a safe Chat Noir.” He stopped in his tracks at his realization. 

“A safe Chat Noir? Are you planning on keeping him hidden away?” Nathalie inquired. 

“No of course not. That will give me away if his identity was to be revealed. I will simply deliver a message through the akumas. ‘Chat Noir’s miraculous has been retrieved. If you want him to stay unharmed you must hand over the Ladybug miraculous’. If they care for him, like I suspect they do, it will be a piece of cake.” Gabriel smiled to himself. Proud of his new plan. 

“Now stop stalling Nathalie. Bring me his miraculous. Now.” Gabriel sat in his chair, eyes fixated on his computer screen. He was done with this conversation and refusing to look at Nathalie accentuated it. 

~POV: Nathalie.

Nathalie walked out of Gabriel’s office. She needed to sit down and collect herself before carrying out the task at hand. 

She walked to the empty dining room and let herself break her facade. She sat with a slump, her hands entangled together as she rested her forehead on them. Her shoulders sagged in her hunched position. 

She cared for Adrien, more than she should have allowed herself to. The guilt of her task was gnawing away at her heart. 

She remembered the first day Gabriel started to suspect his son being Chat Noir. Her instinct was to find out before he did. She knew that he became Hawk Moth in search for the miraculouses. If Adrien was Chat Noir like he suspected, he would use it to his advantage. She worried it would lead Adrien to harm. 

Determined, she dedicated her free time to figuring out Chat Noir’s identity. With little help from the Ladyblog’s thread dedicated to the heroes’ identities, she instead changed to studying Adrien and his whereabouts. 

That’s when she started to watch the surveillance cameras. With a bit of convincing to get Gorilla to change a camera to face Adrien’s room, she finally found her proof. 

In plain sight, she watched as Chat Noir eased himself in and out of Adrien’s bedroom window. 

She kept her finding to herself. Only monitoring to be assured that he was arriving home safely every night. 

This was her secret. Until Gabriel asked her if she had any information on Chat Noir’s identity. Gabriel could read her face a mile away, no matter how much she practiced in her mirror. 

Looking back now, she should have worked harder. But a part of her brain was telling her it was the right thing to do. He needed to know that all his akumas, all the fights, all the threats, were all aimed at his son. If he cared for him, like she hoped for, he would stop. Gabriel would find a way to retrieve the miraculouses without hurting the hero duo. 

She was wrong. Instead, he increased his attacks. He thought he could tire his son out, with more modeling gigs and more akumas. If he was too busy and too tired to fight as Chat Noir, he would give up his miraculous. 

But Adrien is strong. She knew this. She knew Adrien wouldn’t give up without a fight. 

And now she has to cheat their way to Gabriel’s victory. 

It was her fault. She should have been stronger. She should have fought for Adrien. To allow him to be free. Gabriel had taken away his ability to have a normal childhood. Chat Noir allowed him to have a taste of freedom. 

She was taking it away. The moment she lays her fingers on that ring, she will be the cause of his misery. 

She took a deep breath and stood, her hands strongly placed on the table top. 

“Please forgive me Emilie,” she whispered. 

She entered Adrien’s room to find him sleeping on his back, his right hand flopped off of the bed. 

She took one last deep breath and walked towards him. She stood and watched his peaceful breathing below her. 

She closed her eyes and shook her head. _I’m so sorry_ she thought to herself as she reached down and slid the ring off his finger. 

What scared her was not Adrien turning over in his sleep to his left side, facing away from her. What scared her was the black and green orb? Light? Smoke? Whatever it was, it found itself flying into the ring and nearly causing her to drop it in fright. 

She shook the fear out of her body and left the room. 

~ POV: Adrien. 

Adrien groaned at the alarm on his phone. He turned onto his right side and grabbed his phone off the nightstand with his left hand. 

_Wednesday 6:30 AM_ He stopped the alarm and turned to lay on his back. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. 

“Plagg, why did I do this to myself? If I was homeschooled still I would at least be able to sleep for another hour.” Adrien whined. 

Silence. 

He turned his head to look at the pillow next to him, Plagg’s usual sleeping spot. 

“Hmm. Plagg? Why are you up already?” Adrien asked into the air of his room. 

No response. Adrien was starting to feel anxious at the lack of his tiny cat god in his room. 

He got out of his bed to take a shower and get himself ready for school. With one final stretch, that caused his leg to spasm in the most relieving way, he untangled himself from his blankets and walked to his bathroom. 

As he rid his body of his pajamas he figured Plagg must have snuck into the kitchen for more cheese. It was a common occurrence but he usually left in the middle of the night when the house was asleep. 

He shrugged off the strange feeling in his gut and stepped into his shower. He began washing his hair of the oil and sweat it collected throughout the night. He rinsed his hair and began to lather his loofa. 

Falling into the rhythm of his shower, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of the warm water soothing his body.

He washed his arms and started to work towards his hands. His usual routine was to wash his hands then move his ring up to wash up any dirt that collected under it. 

But when he reached blindly for his ring he didn’t feel the cool silver on his digit.

His eyes shot open staring directly at his bare hand. 

_what the fu… how did.._ he thought to himself trying to remember what may have happened in the night for his ring to escape his finger. 

He quickly washed the rest of his body and jumped out of the shower. He ran into his room with his towel wrapped around himself. He threw his sheets apart in a frantic motion. 

Nothing.

He checked every inch of his room with no luck. 

“How the _hell_ do I lose a ring that never leaves my own finger?!” Adrien silently screamed to himself. 

He checked his phone for the time. 

_Wednesday 7:00 AM_

It was too late to continue to search his room. He had to leave for school. What in the world did he do? 

~

Adrien could not sit still. He was shaking one part of his body at all times. If not his leg, then his foot, his arms, or his hands. 

He was a mess and he knew it. How could he lose his miraculous? There was already two missing and now a third with his mistake. How was he supposed to tell Fu? _How was he supposed to tell Ladybug?_

Just when he thought he finally had a good relationship built with her he had to knock it down. 

Nino shoved his left arm scaring him out of his internal rant. 

“Dude? What is up with you today?” Nino looked confused.

“Oh, sorry man. Just had a rough night that’s all.” Adrien brushed him off with a slight smile. 

“You’ve been moving nonstop. And you’ve taken no notes! Something is up my dude. Is it your ring?”

“My r-ring?” Adrien swallowed hard. How would Nino know about his miraculous? Could he make the connection from his own?

“Yeah, you always have it on. Did you lose it or something?”Nino asked.

“Uh no. I just.. I left it on the sink in my bathroom. I took a longer shower than I thought I was going to take. I had to rush out of the house this morning.” Adrien scratched the back of his head. “It’s no big deal.” 

“Whatever you say, dude.” Nino dug his face back into his textbook. 

Adrien sunk into his seat. _How can I get out of this.._

~

By Friday afternoon Adrien had torn apart his room an entire six times. Each with no luck of finding his miraculous. 

“You have no choice now Adrien,” he whispered to himself. “You have to tell her.”

He pulled out his phone and went to the free texting app. 

He pressed on Ladybug’s contact. 

_Me - Hey Ladybug. It’s Chat. I have some bad news. :c_

_LB <3 - What did you do now? _

_Me - I.. I think someone stole my miraculous.._

_LB <3 - YOU THINK? IS IT ON YOUR HAND OR NOT?_

_Me - It’s not. I thought I just lost it.. But.. I can’t find it anywhere._

_LB <3 - Have you told Fu? _

_Me - No! We already have 2 miraculouses out.. I can’t admit I lost mine.. But I don’t think it’s lost Bug. I think someone took it._

_LB <3 - Well obviously if someone took it you would have seen them take it off your hand?_

_Me - In my sleep? I swear I had it on when I went to sleep._

_LB <3 - Do you really think your parents would take your ring without telling you? _

_Me - Yeah.. but maybe the other people in my house. Not the point though, what do I do? What do WE do?_

_LB <3 - Well.. until we know who has it there isn’t much we can do. _

Nathalie knocked on Adrien’s bedroom door. “Adrien it is time for dinner. Your father will be joining you today.” 

“I’ll be right there,” Adrien replied. 

_Me - I wish I can brainstorm with you. But I have to go eat._

_Me - I’m sorry._

_LB <3 - Okay I’ll try to think of stuff. _

_Me - Please forgive me._

_LB <3 - Don’t. We can find a solution. _

Adrien set his phone on his desk and sighed. What would he do without his Lady?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am MariChat trash but I have a soft spot for LadyNoir. I probably won't write it in this though, unless you all want me to? If I get enough people asking for it I'll write it in ;)


	4. Schedules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry this was a bit longer to get out. I've been having issues with this chapter honestly. 
> 
> Oh, I totally forgot to say what I think Carapace does! My bad. He uses his shell that's on his back as a shield during fights. His power is to create a force field, as big as needed. His timer starts when he deactivates it. 
> 
> Anyways, here's the next chapter! Please leave comments if you see anything wrong or if you like anything! I honestly have tweaked my chapter outlines because of awesome ideas you guys have provided :) 
> 
> Enjoy! ~

~POV: Gabriel.

“He will be here shortly sir.” Nathalie collected the paperwork that was sitting on the table in front of him. 

“Good. Thank you.” Gabriel leaned back in his chair, stretching his legs out. 

“How has he reacted to his missing miraculous?” Gabriel asked. He stared at Nathalie, trying to find any hint of her keeping any information from him on her face. She placed their dinner plates onto the table as she thought about what to say.

Nathalie took a deep breath and looked at Gabriel, “He has been frantic. I believe he thinks he misplaced it in his bedroom.” 

Gabriel looked forward, “Hm.” He clasped his hands together and placed them on the table. 

He watched Adrien enter the dining room from his left side. “Good evening son. How was your day?” 

Adrien looked at him with wide eyes as he sat down in his seat. “Uh, it was okay. The usual Friday for me, I am a little surprised you’re eating with me today though.” 

“We have not eaten a meal together in a while. I thought it would be a nice change for us.” Gabriel gave a soft smile at Adrien. 

Adrien stared with his eyebrows raised for a moment. His face relaxed and he smiled back at Gabriel. “I think it is a nice change father.” 

They began their meal in silence with smiles on their faces.

Halfway finished with his meal Gabriel sat back in his chair with a smirk on his face. “How are your studies going?”

“Hm. They’re going well. It’s not difficult. I actually have been tutoring some younger students in science.” Adrien said in between bites of his dinner with a smile on his face.

“That’s kind of you. Is there any other activity you would like to start?”

“Umm. Not really father. I think I have enough on my plate. I like where I am at right now. I think it’ll all be great additions to my resume for college in a few years.” Adrien smiled sheepishly. 

“What about something more physical? Something like acrobatics? As skillful as fencing is, it would look nice to have more athletic experience along with your academics. I think you would like it. Tumbling around and all of that stuff they do.” Gabriel gave Adrien a blank stare. 

“If you are planning on adding more to your resume, which I advise, you should start soon so your longevity can prove it’s worth on applications.”

Adrien has jumped around Paris like an acrobat, and mentioning it out of the blue will hopefully get Adrien to become suspicious. Part of him wanted Adrien to be suspicious of him. If Adrien was actually aware of his surroundings he would have figured everyone out already. 

Gabriel figured out that Marinette is Ladybug after the first few times he had seen her, and yet Adrien saw her nearly every day. There are not many half Asian/half French women in Paris, let alone one who maintains her daily hairstyle with two pigtails. 

This part of him also knew it was dangerous to give hints to Adrien. If he has contact with his hero group, they would come after him straight away. But how could Adrien explain that he knows Gabriel Agreste personally? How could he explain that _Gabriel Agreste_ stole his ring off his finger in his sleep? He would give away his identity. 

Knowing how infatuated his son is with Ladybug, and vice-versa with Marinette for Adrien, it’s nearly impossible for them to know their real identities. If they did know at all, they would jump excitedly into a relationship. And to Gabriel’s knowledge, they are _only friends._

This part of him also wanted Adrien to know the miraculous was stolen rather than lost. Maybe if he understood why they needed the miraculouses, he would help him. Gabriel was not that hopeful though. Adrien’s devotion to Ladybug may be too strong for him to betray her. 

So why would he be hinting to Adrien that he knows of his secret pastime activity? The truth was, Gabriel was becoming desperate. He didn’t want to hurt his son anymore. He didn’t want to keep putting these children in danger. He was _tired._ And that tired voice in his mind was louder than the voice of reason.

Adrien coughed on his food, startling Gabriel out of his thoughts. 

“Um. I don’t.. I don’t really know if I would like that father. It seems rather dangerous to be honest. I am not cut out for sports like that.” Adrien looked uncomfortable. He shifted in his chair, seeming to be bouncing his leg with anxiety. 

One of the voices in his mind told him not to push Adrien, he was obviously on edge as it was. 

“Hmm. To each their own, son. I entrust that you will let me know if another hobby catches your eye? I want you to have the best resume for university applications. Nothing less.” Gabriel stood, his plate empty on the table. 

Adrien gave his father a blank look followed by a nod.

“Let’s be sure to have dinner every Friday son. It will be a nice tradition.” He exited the dining room and went straight into his office. 

“Nooroo?” Gabriel called out for his kwami. 

“Yes, master?” Nooroo flew out of the third drawer of his desk. 

“Have you been able to get the cat god out of the ring?” 

“No, sir. He won’t come out. The only other way I can think of getting him out is by having someone put it on. However, master, I strongly advise that you _do not_ put on the miraculous. The cat and butterfly were not created to mix.” Nooroo looked up at Gabriel with worrisome eyes. 

Gabriel smiled as he picked up Nooroo and sat with her on his lap, stroking her head softly. “Don’t worry Nooroo. I remember. Who do you think should wear the ring then? I don’t want your friend to think anything bad will happen to him or Adrien.”

“Master I cannot judge that. I can sense who would be a good fit for myself only. The cat holder requires different attributes than me.” Nooroo snuggled deeper in Gabriel’s lap. 

“Hmm. Maybe I’ll have Gorilla do it. I think he would like a form of redemption from his akumatization.” 

Gabriel had improved his relationship with Nooroo over the past few months. Nooroo was the first to hear about Gabriel’s doubts of continuing his reign as Hawk Moth. 

She tried many times to have him go to the Guardian to see if his magic could heal his wife. She had told him that the cat and ladybug miraculouses were not the only solution but he brushed her off every time. 

Regardless of how he decided to end everything and achieve his goal, he knew he had been a rude master to Nooroo. She gave him his power, and he treated her like a slave. Gabriel knew that she hated transforming him, so he let her loose in the house to compensate for it. He provided any food she craved, which had a trend of being honey and raspberries. 

“This is only to ensure that Plagg knows Adrien is safe, right? And that we won’t harm them?” Nooroo looked at Gabriel with pleading eyes. As if she could influence him to change his mind on using the ultimate power. 

“Yes, Nooroo. We need the both of them to comply. But I don’t want to resort to yelling at them and forcing them against their will. I know now that was a mistake with you. I don’t want to repeat that.” Gabriel placed Nooroo on his desk and walked towards the door.

“Get some rest Nooroo. We will start tomorrow morning.” Gabriel took a deep sigh and left for his room.

~ POV: Adrien.

_Call DJ Nino_

…

_What's up dudes? Ya missed me. Call me again later!_

“Ugh. He must be busy.” Adrien spoke out loud to himself. 

He wasn’t used to not having Plagg around. He told Plagg everything! Plagg was the first to hear all of his rants. And when Plagg proved himself useless, Adrien would call Nino. 

But neither of them were available. 

He could call Chloe, but she has heard enough of him complaining about father. He complained to her for _years_ before he got to go to public school. Nino filled her spot now. 

He laid back on his bed, limbs spread out. Who else could he call? He wanted- no he _needed_ to vent to someone. 

Adrien thought that he and his father were making some sort of improvement on their relationship. He seemed to be interested in Adrien’s life today. But it felt like he only wanted to have dinner with him to give him more pointers on how to _'perfect his resume’._

Adrien was tired of having the same conversation with his father. He just wanted a normal relationship with him. He felt like a trophy child. That his purpose in this life was to make Gabriel Agreste look good. To give Gabriel more and more accomplishments that he can brag about to his colleagues. 

Maybe he could talk to Marinette. But she didn’t know about his problems at home. However, she knew Chat had some issues with his home life.. But he can’t transform without Plagg. 

Adrien groaned loudly and curled up into a ball in the middle of his bed. 

“I need more friends.” He whispered to himself as he closed his eyes to fall asleep. 

~POV: Nino/Carapace.

The next akuma occurred on Saturday during lunchtime. He had just sat down at a park with Alya to enjoy a picnic together when they heard the screams.

Alya wanted to go check on her siblings, stating that they didn’t like to be without her during akuma attacks. 

Nino said he would clean up and meet her there once he was done. He packed up their lunch and placed it under a nearby bench as he watched her round the corner to her house.

Once again, he would get ‘caught up in the akuma attack’ and would not be able to go meet with her. 

With a sigh he walked to the nearest alleyway and transformed. 

This akuma was easier than usual. It was a quick match with a woman who had been cheated on by her partner with a random tourist. He hated these kinds of akumas, it broke his own heart knowing that there were so many hearts broken in the city of love. 

Sometimes he worried if he would ever mess up and get Alya akumatized again. But he dropped those thoughts as soon as they appear. 

Due to the quickness and ease with this akuma, only Ladybug had used her charm. She was about to leave when he realized that Chat was missing.

“Hey wait LB, do you know where Chat is? He has never missed an akuma attack since you two first appeared.” Carapace asked before Ladybug could launch her yo-yo.

She set her yo-yo back on her hip with a dumbfounded look on her face.

“That’s not true, he didn’t fight when I was akumatized!” Bee remarked. 

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure he’s been away for some of them. Besides, we didn’t really need him today,” Rena added.

“He is probably busy. Not all of us are free on weekends y’know.” Ladybug gave a half smile. 

“I gotta go though. Don’t forget about the change in parol schedule! It’s a new month,” Ladybug smiled and swung away.

She took too long to answer that. Her face was screaming something else. Something burning inside her. She thought too hard and too long for a simple ‘he’s probably busy’. She _has_ to know something.

“I don’t buy it.” Carapace looked at his remaining team members.

“Sometimes we just don’t realize what’s going on when we are busy Shelly. Besides, this akuma was easy. Hell, Bug probably could have done it on her own without us. I don’t think there is anything more to read into.” Rena shrugged. 

Maybe she’s right. 

But he had better things to do than think about his kitty cat team member. He had a date to go back to!

~POV: Chloe/Queen Bee

Monday had proven to be boring once again for Chloe. 

She sat on her couch, undoing her ponytail to brush her hair before changing into pajamas for the night. 

Her music suddenly lowered as she got a text message.

Annoyed she picked up her phone and was immediately annoyed. 

_Puss - Hey my favorite team member!!!! Can you patrol for me tonight? I can’t ;3_

_Me - What do you mean you can’t patrol tonight?!_

_Puss - I honestly forgot about the change in schedule bumblebee. I made plans I can’t back out of. Purrrrease fill for me??_

_Me - You would have been reminded of this if you actually fought the akuma with us on saturday._

_Puss - I know but I was busy on Saturday too. I am overloaded! :c_

_Me - Then go on patrol to have some free time to yourself. I am not doing two days in a row. I have Tuesday’s now. Remember? Or should I map it out for you since you conveniently forgot today?_

_Puss - Oh my savior! Please, I need the schedule! My poor dumb brain cannot remember it!_

_Me - Ugh. I hate you. You have Mondays. I have Tuesdays. Fox has Wednesdays. Bug is Thursday, Turtle is Friday._

_Puss - I actually remembered. That’s why I was able to ask you to cover for me. ;3_

_Me - … You know what? I will. But only if you agree to one thing._

_Puss - What?_

_Me - You have to take care of the press for the month. I’m honestly so bored with it. I need a break._

_Puss - Ohh!! I will!! Ladybug won’t be happy about that ~_

_Me - I know. But it is what it is. We got a deal?_

_Puss - Deal. Thanks bumblebee!_

Chloe threw her phone onto her bed and walked to her mirror. 

“Of course he comes to me in need! I am the best there is after all!” She smirked at herself in the mirror as she redid her ponytail. 

Something about Chat Noir seemed off to her. He _never_ asked her to fill for him because she always asks for something in return. 

It’s only fair that if she used her free time for someone else that they do the same. _Right?_

But Chat always asked Ladybug or Carapace. She was not on his list of teammates to go to. Sure, he goes to her on advice for his Ladybug problems, but not to cover a shift for him. 

Maybe he was having issues with Ladybug again? Maybe they got in a fight? That wouldn’t be good for their dynamic. 

That _must_ be why Ladybug acted weird when Carapace asked where Chat was on Saturday. 

“Pollen! Sweetie!” Chloe called out for her kwami.

“Yes Chloe?” Pollen flew next to Chloe from her pillow on the balcony. 

“We are covering patrol tonight for Chat Noir. But I want to call Ladybug before we head out. Just a heads up.” Chloe walked back to her bed to retrieve her phone.

“Okay! I’ll _bee_ ready.” 

Chloe picked up her phone and went to the free texting app and clicked on Ladybug’s contact. 

_Call Buggy_

_'Bee? Is there something wrong?'_ Ladybug answered.

 _'Not with me. I think something happened between you and Chat and I want to know what it is.'_ Chloe sat on her bed, picking at her nails.

She heard Ladybug shift whatever position she was in. 

_'Um. I don’t know what you’re talking about Bee.'_

_'Bullshit. I can sense it a mile away Bug. And he even asked me to cover his patrol shift tonight. So either you tell me or I’ll tell Fox something is up and she’ll force it out of you in front of everyone. You know she will.'_

Ladybug groaned. Chloe knew it wouldn’t be long before she told her the truth. 

_'Well. We aren’t fighting if you think that’s what is going on.'_ Ladybug finally spoke.

 _'Then? Why is he bothering me?'_ Chloe rolled her eyes. 

_'I.. I don’t think it’s my place to tell you Bee.'_

_'Um. I’m pretty sure you can because it seems to be affecting you just as much. I can hear it in your voice.'_

Ladybug sighed. _'I can’t lie to you. It is stressing me out..'_

It was a long silence before Ladybug spoke up again. 

_'Someone stole his miraculous.'_

_'Are you_ fucking _kidding me?! How long ago did this happen?'_ Chloe stood up fast, startling Pollen who was laying on her pillow.

_'He barely told me on Friday. I think he said it happened earlier though. He thought he misplaced it. But don’t worry. We are coming up with a plan to get it back somehow.'_

Chloe was mad. Her eyebrows furrowed. _How dare they keep this a secret!_

 _'Who is this ‘we’'_ Chloe asked.

 _'Chat and I. It’s really not something we need everyone to get involved with. If word gets out that his miraculous is on the loose it’ll cause more problems than we need.'_ Ladybug sounded defeated. As if she didn’t think she could handle it all.

 _'What?_ Oh hell no. _We are solving this._ TOGETHER. AS. A. TEAM. _We are going to schedule a meeting for all us to meet up and tackle this. This is_ NOT _a ‘you and Chat’ problem. This is a miraculous problem! UGH. Bug, you know you can trust us.'_ Chloe picked up Pollen and started to walk to her balcony door.

 _'You know what? I don’t care what you think about it. I’m setting up a meeting with all of us and we are solving this. I have to go on patrol now for Chat. I’ll text the group later with details.'_ Chloe stated sternly and hung up before Ladybug could get another word in. 

Pollen looked up at Chloe, “What happened to Chat Noir?” 

“His dumb self got his miraculous stolen. I don't know any details other than that. But I’m going to get all of us together to get the full story.” Chloe looked off into the Paris skyline.

“Wow. That really isn’t good. I hope Plagg is smart and stays inside in the ring. We have to solve this fast!” Pollen bounced with anxiety in Chloe’s hands. 

“We will. Don’t worry sweetie. Wings on!” Chloe transformed and flew to her usual starting point. 

This was easily one of the worst Monday’s she’s had in a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, super sorry this is 'late'. I don't really have a schedule but I think this is the most time I have spent between chapters. 
> 
> Please leave comments again, this chapter really beat me up.


	5. Long Nights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter! Please comment :) 
> 
> Enjoy ~
> 
> Edit: I did pretty bad at proofreading this time lol. My bad :/

~POV: Alya/Rena.

These past few months had been exhausting for Alya. 

School was becoming more difficult each day that passed. She was very limited on time now that she had become a full-time miraculous holder. And to top it off, her and Nino’s relationship had started to be affected by it. 

They didn’t get to spend much time together anymore. Her parents have made it clear that she needed to focus on studying more than her boyfriend. Because of that, her time with Nino has been highly limited to only weekends. Unluckily, her parents would leave Alya home alone to babysit the twins. 

This past weekend was the first time in three long weeks that they got to go on a date together. Coincidentally, Hawk Moth also used this time to create another akuma. 

Not only had her time with her boyfriend been cut short, but her bad luck had also lingered into her friendship with Marinette. 

With how busy they’ve been, the two girls have hardly been able to spend any time together outside of school hours. 

It was rare for her to catch a break through the torrent of homework, household duties, and heroic responsibility. So she made sure to cherish the time spent with loved ones. 

She was about to text Nino to see if he was free to ~~sneak~~ _hang out_ when she received a notification from the hero group chat. 

_Bee - Emergency meeting at our usual Eiffel tower platform. ASAP. This is more important than whatever you’re doing._

Alya stared at her phone dumbfounded. It was a Tuesday evening of a new month. Why in the _world_ did she have to transform tonight.

With a very loud grunt, Alya stood from her bed and walked to the hamster cage in the corner of her room. 

“Trixx? Are you sleeping?” Alya spoke softly into the cage. 

“Nope! Just watching over Hammy. He hasn’t been eating his favorite dried up carrots in his food. I’m worried that he might be sick.” Trixx emerged from the little castle where Hammy was sleeping.

“We will have to monitor his food for the next few days. If he doesn’t seem to want to eat then we can take him to the vet, okay? But right now we gotta transform.” 

Trixx flew to Alya’s line of sight with a puzzled look on his tiny face. “But it’s Tuesday?” 

“I knooww. Bee is summoning us though.” Alya whined. 

She walked to her balcony and pushed the door open, “Come on dude, let’s pounce.”

She leapt to the nearest rooftop and sighed. _”This better be good, Bee.”_

~ 

Rena landed on top of the third platform with a soft thud. 

In the center of the platform she saw Queen Bee and Ladybug sitting together on the floor with their legs criss-crossed. 

She strolled over to them casually, “Is there any reason why we are all here on a Tuesday night?”. She swiftly crossed her legs and sat down in front of the two girls.

“We can’t start until everyone is here.” Ladybug murmured, looking at the floor in front of her. 

“Is something wrong?” concerned, Rena questioned Ladybug. 

Bee interjected, “Just hold on fox. Once Carapace gets here we can start.” She gave Rena this look telling her to shut up. 

Rena slouched over, resting her elbows on her knees. 

Several minutes had passed when she heard Carapace’s footsteps. 

“Sorry, I was in the middle of a difficult homework problem. I just had to finish it before coming up here.” Carapace was out of breath, probably from rushing to the Eiffel Tower. 

Rena watched him as he sat between her and Ladybug. 

“So Chat is MIA.” Ladybug began. 

Carapace snorted, “Yeah duh. I think we can see that. Why aren’t we waiting for him?”

“Because, this has to do with him.” Ladybug looked up and glanced at Rena. 

“Do I have to beat him up for you? ‘Cause I will. I know you have just as much strength but I will do it for you Bug.” Rena growled, her voice low. 

“It’s not that. We are fine in that sense. Still good friends.” 

They all groaned at Ladybug’s last comment. 

“Then what is it?” Carapace asked.

“He is dumb. He got his miraculous stolen.” Bee stated, clearly annoyed.

Rena stared at Bee in shock. There was no way someone would just walk up to Chat when he was a civilian and take his ring off of him. Knowing how Chat is, he would have put up a fight! 

“It wasn’t that simple Bee. He thought he might have misplaced it. From what I know, he doesn’t take the ring off but he was hopeful it just ended up behind his bed or something. But at this point, we think someone stole it.” 

“But how does someone just take a ring off of your hand and you _not_ notice that?!” Rena spoke up once again. 

“It must have happened in his sleep. That’s what we think at least.” 

“When did this happen, Ladybug.” Carapace seemed angry. He had a certain stiffness in his jaw, one that reminded Rena of her own boyfriend when he gets upset. Boys are so similar. So readable. 

“Sometime last week. He didn’t tell me until recently.” Ladybug looked at Carapace, sensing his frustration.

“What day?!”

“.. Friday night, I think.”

“I _fucking_ knew it! Why did you hide this from us?! Do you think we don’t deserve to know about something that’s happening to one of our partners too?!” Carapace stood up, his fists clenched. 

Rena stood with him. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she attempted to calm him down. 

“I.. I didn’t think it was my place to say.” Ladybug averted her gaze, looking back down at the floor. 

“Well, how did you find out Bee?” Rena asked.

“Yesterday Chat wanted me to cover his patrol. I sensed his bullshit on him _‘being busy.’_ So I asked Ladybug about it. And now we are here. I want us to figure this out together. If one of us got our miraculous stolen, then any of us probably can.” Bee shrugged.

“Okay. Well, this isn’t good. Who would even know his identity?” Rena asked.

“No. We aren’t moving on from this. Why did you two think you can do this on your own Ladybug?” Carapace shook Rena’s hand off his shoulder. 

Carapace was the most recent addition to the hero group. It was obvious he didn't think that he was treated fairly. She remembered when she first started as a miraculous holder and feeling like Chat Noir wanted nothing to do with her. She can't blame Carapace for his feelings, but he was in a much better situation than she had been.

“She said she didn’t think it was her place to tell us, Carapace. If you are gonna be mad at someone then it should be Chat. He only told her.” Rena put herself between him and Ladybug. She forced him to make eye contact with her. “It’s not something we need to worry about right now. We have to find a way to get the miraculous back.”

“They don’t trust us, Rena.” His tone was cold. Somewhere inside her, she agreed with him. 

“We trust each other with our lives every akuma attack. Just because he told her first doesn’t mean we aren’t trusted.” Bee spoke up, trying to break the tension.

Rena saw Ladybug walk away to sit along the edge of the platform. Maybe it was best she didn’t try to justify her and Chat’s actions. 

Bee, now standing next to her and Carapace, put a hand on Carapace’ shoulder. “Right now we need to focus on how Chat had his miraculous stolen. I think his identity is in danger. We can talk to him later on why he decided to only include Ladybug.”

Carapace rolled his eyes, “Whatever. I just knew something was up. And I asked! Ladybug lied to all of us!”

Ladybug spoke up, her voice soft but loud enough to be heard, “Carapace we have been lying to each other as heroes and in civilian forms for nearly 2 years. What difference does it make?” 

“Because now we are all in danger. Obviously, Hawk Moth knows who he is. Why else would someone steal a ring from a random kid?” Carapace snapped. 

Rena pieced together his last thoughts. “If this happened when he was sleeping... Wouldn’t that mean Hawk Moth has access to Chat? Like, as in he knows where he lives?”

Ladybug turned around and faced them, her eyes wide at the sudden realization.

“We need to protect him!” 

“How can we? We don’t know who he is. Unless you do?” Bee walked over to Ladybug and sat next to her.

Rena motioned for Carapace to join her in sitting with their teammates. 

“No. I am the only one who knows who Fox is. Chat and I know who you and Carapace are.” Ladybug stared into the distance. Worry was written all over her face.

"So you really do take this identity stuff serious. I thought you were just pulling our legs." Carapace sat on the left side of Ladybug, Rena sitting on his left.

The four sat in an uncomfortable silence, only the sounds of cars and light chatter from the city below danced in their ears. Tension high and thick in the air.

Bee spoke first, “Maybe it’s time you and Chat learn who you guys are.” 

Ladybug huffed, “No way.”

Carapace looked at Ladybug, “I would say we should all know our identities.” 

“Ladybug, you know who all of us are and that hasn’t caused any issues.” Rena stated, leaning on her thighs to look at Ladybug. 

“I think maybe it is time for you and Chat to know each other at the very least. It could help us keep each other safe. Especially since Hawk Moth figured him out. Then he could probably figure out any of us. But if we don’t know who we are, or at least one person knows us, how can we help each other outside of our hero selves?”

“I really don’t think it’s okay. What if... What if Hawk Moth watches him and figures me out because we shared our identities?” Ladybug asked, still staring into the distance. 

“Same applies if we all know our identities,” Bee whispered.

“Okay, wait. Let’s say we get the miraculous back. How would we even get it to him? One of us would have to find out who he is when we hand it back to him. We can’t just leave it somewhere for him to pick up later.” Carapace frowned. 

“And if we all know our identities then it would be easier for us to protect each other. So what if Hawk Moth knows? We can back each other up! He was able to single out Chat Noir. Now here we are, helpless, because we don’t know who he is!” Rena exclaimed. 

Ladybug put her face in her hands, clearly torn apart.

“I.. I need to talk to Master Fu about this before I can make a decision.” Ladybug sighed.

“I think we all need to agree on what we do before you go. This should be a team decision.” Bee rubbed Ladybugs shoulder with her left hand.

“I vote all of us know.” Carapace said.

“Same.” Rena smiled at Carapace.

“I think that if we are to do this all, you and Chat do your thing between you two first. Afterward, we can make the rest of our reveals. You and him have been working together the longest, it only makes sense that it would be the toughest for you two.” Bee spoke warmly with a slight smile on her face. 

“Ugghh. Okay. It’s agreed then.” Ladybug mumbled. 

Rena stood up first, “Hey, maybe now you will give poor Chat a chance!” 

Ladybug groaned loudly while the rest laughed. 

“Just teasing you, Bug. I am gonna go now, I want to relax for once.” Rena waved goodbye and hopped off the platform.

By the time Rena reached her balcony, she had fought off at least three yawns.

Her transformation released as she checked the time on her computer. 

_9:30 PM_

“Trixx, do you think it’s a good idea for us to all know each other?” Alya looked at her kwami who was eating chocolate covered raisins on her desk.

“It is important to not know in the beginning in my opinion. Because you want to create a good bond without the presumptions. But you have been working with the group for a long time now. I do not see an issue in sharing identities. Although, I do worry about Chat Noir’s safety.” 

“Me too, Trixx.” Alya yawned, “I think I am going to sleep now. We can talk about it more tomorrow.” 

~POV: Marinette/Ladybug.

Marinette sat silently in her bed. She stared at her wall as if she was in some kind of trance. 

“Marinette? Are you okay?” Tikki asked after finishing her cookie. 

“I don’t think I’m ready for this. I don’t think I can tell everyone who I am. Carapace is right... I’m just a liar. They won’t be my friends anymore after this..” 

“I doubt that Marinette! You hid your identity from them because you thought it would keep them safe!” Tikki sat on Marinette’s knee.

“It didn’t keep Chat safe.” Marinette was trying to hold back her tears. 

She couldn’t tell what hurt her more. The fact that her best friends will know she had been lying to them for years or that the lies didn’t even keep them safe. 

When did she become such a huge liar? 

Oh yeah, _when she became Ladybug._

“Tikki, how did I mess this up so bad? I.. I thought I was doing the right thing.” Marinette laid on her back, staring at the sky through her trap door. 

“Your intentions were good Marinette. I think that counts for something.”

“Maybe... I just hope they can forgive me. I should probably text Chat.” Marinette pulled out her phone, clicking on their private messages. 

_Me - How are you doing?_

_Chat :3 - I’m as good as I am going to be my lady. How are you?_

_Me - I'm okay. I have to tell you something though_

_Chat :3 - You love me right? ;3_

_Me - Chat, this is serious._

_Chat :3 - I know.. What is it?_

_Me - I told Bee what happened.. And she kind of forced me to tell the others too.._

_Chat :3 - oh_

_Me - I’m sorry.. But.. they want us all to know each other now_

_Chat :3 - Like.. our identities?_

_Me - Yeah.._

_Chat :3 - How do you feel about that? honestly?_

_Me - I am not prepared for them to know who I am.. I feel horrible about this all Chat._

_Me - I have been lying so much to them because of this._

_Chat :3 - You’re close to them aren’t you?_

_Me - Sorta.._

_Chat :3 - Yeah.. me too._

_Me - They want us to meet first._

_Chat :3 - How do you feel about that?_

Marinette stared at her phone screen. How did she feel?

Part of her did want to know who he is. He’s one of her best friends. She would be able to protect him better if she knew who he was.

But it also changes everything. What if he is disappointed in her? How would it affect them in akuma fights? 

Her phone buzzed again.

_Chat :3 - Ladybug?_

_Me - sorry. I don’t know how I feel._

_Chat :3 - This really isn’t the best situation. It’s not how I imagined we would find out._

_Me - Yeah me neither._

_Chat :3 - Do you trust me?_

_Me - Of course I do, Chat. I trust you with my life. I just.. I worry that I’m not what you’d expect. That I’m not as ‘ladybug’ when I am me._

_Chat :3 - I don’t expect you to be. I am not exactly like Chat when I’m myself. But, if you trust me like you say you do, then don’t worry so much. I know you’ve been pretty serious about us remaining anonymous but.. I think it’s for the better now._

_Me - Let’s worry about that later. I’m going to talk to Master Fu probably tomorrow afternoon about it all._

_Chat :3 - Okay, that’s good. He probably has better advice than me anyways_

_Me - I still appreciate it though_

_Chat :3 - Thanks, maybe we could go together? If you want to be alone I understand though._

_Me - I’ll get back to you on that. I’ll let you know in the morning. We were also wondering if this means moth knows where you live_

_Chat :3 - Most likely. But.. he can’t really just go in through my windows. I think it had to have been someone in my house. Plagg would have woken up if someone opened up a window and climbed through_

_Me - Do you think someone in your family works for moth?_

_Chat :3 - I don’t know.. That’d be.. weird.._

_Me - Does anyone in your family happen to work in the fashion industry?_

_Chat :3 - Uhh.. yeah actually.. why?_

_Me - Remember when I thought Gabriel was moth? I am not convinced he’s completely innocent._

_Chat :3 - Wait, why aren’t you convinced? He was akumatized?_

_Me - Maybe it's not him directly. But someone in the company?_

_Chat :3 - I guess so? But why him?_

_Me - He had the book of miraculouses and their powers. Master Fu believes whoever has the book must have the missing miraculouses._

_Chat :3 - According to what he told me it would mean his missing wife is moth?_

_Me - You asked about it?_

_Chat :3 - I went back to do some extra digging around. Just in case._

_Me - So do you think moth is his wife?_

_Chat :3 - She disappeared before all of this so I say no chance. None._

_Me - Yeah.. you’re right. So, someone in the company maybe?_

_Chat :3 - That would make sense.. But how did you even know he had the book?_

_Me - I had followed up with him. I had to give the book back so his son would be allowed to go back to school. I decided to ask where he got it from. But he told me that he found it overseas._

_Chat :3 - So he has two stories.._

_Me - Apparently. Seems suspicious to me still._

_Chat :3 - I'll look around with my family that works in fashion. I'll see if I can dig up anything. I’m honestly getting sleepy, I’ll keep you updated my lady_

_Me - Me too. Stay safe kitty :) goodnight_

_Chat :3 - Goodnight bugaboo_

Marinette plugged her phone into her charger and double checked that her alarm for tomorrow was on. 

With a sigh she turned onto her right side and closed her eyes, imagining all the possibilities of what will happen to the miraculous team.


	6. What's the point?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SORRY  
> I AM SO SO SO SO SORRY  
> I really didn't think it would take me MONTHS to spill out this tiny chapter.  
> I am a struggling college student, and I know that's annoying to hear but it's true. I am seriously constantly busy. But I am avoiding homework already this quarter and uploading this short chapter.  
> I AM SO SORRY ITS SO SHORT.  
> I just... I had a hard time figuring out how I wanted this part to go. But here it is. I'm going to start writing more, I PROMISE.

~POV: Adrien. 

It had been over a week since he last saw his little cat god and miraculous ring. 

Adrien slouched into his seat in the back of the car. His head lolled to the right as he looked out the window. 

He had always defined himself as a lonely child. He was accustomed to it. But after having Plagg by his side for years, it hurt him to truly be alone again. 

He stared dully at the numerous bakeries he passed by. He figured some sweets would help him feel a little better. 

He leaned forward and rested his chin on the front passenger seat, “Hey, do you mind if we stop at a bakery after school so I can sneak some sweets in?”

Gorilla simply nodded as he turned the steering wheel to the left. 

His right hand was now at the top of the wheel and Adrien’s eyes drifted towards it. 

Adrien felt his life drain out of his body. _His own bodyguard stole his miraculous._

The car stopped and Gorilla turned towards him gesturing to Adrien that they arrived at the school. 

Adrien shook his head to regain focus and thanked Gorilla as he stepped out of the car. 

Immediately he pulled out his phone.

_Me - I know who has my miraculous. I am completely vulnerable. It’s someone in my home._

_Me - Let’s see Fu together. Please._

Adrien could not focus during class. His mind was racing. Time seemed to fly by as he wasn’t paying attention to the lecture. There was only 5 minutes left before lunch break when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. 

_LB <3 - Okay. Meet me there at lunch. I have a plan on how we both can be there_

He sent a quick text to Gorilla telling him he will be staying at school to study through his lunch break. Once the bell rang he smiled at Nino telling him he was going to go home to take a little nap. 

He ran as fast as he could to Master Fu’s shop. When he opened the door he nearly ran straight into Ladybug’s back. 

“Hello Chat Noir, Ladybug. Please come sit.” 

Adrien froze in place, catching his breath as he stared at the girl in front of him.

“I have a blindfold on Chat. It’s the only thing I could think of to have us both here,” Ladybug was now using her arms in front of her to find the doorway to the next room.

Adrien closed the door behind him and grabbed her hand, “Here, let me help you.”

They both sat down in front of Master Fu, who had a smile on his face.

“So. What brings you here?”

Adrien looked at Ladybug, wondering who would speak first. She seemed to be nervous so he decided to talk for them.

“Someone stole my miraculous. And I know who, I found out this morning. But once we get my miraculous back, we aren’t sure how we can continue to protect each other like this.”

“The rest of the team wants us all to know our identities.” Ladybug interrupted. 

“Hmm. I see. How does that make you feel Ladybug?” Master Fu looked at Ladybug. 

“I don’t like it! But I do at the same time. I mean, I can’t even help my partner because I don’t know who he is! He’s right here next to me and I can’t do anything to protect him. Because I don’t know _him_. But what if I did? How would it even help? Could knowing our identities really help us keep each other safe Master? What if it doesn’t? What if Hawk Moth can use that knowledge against us?” Ladybug sank into her lap. Adrien rested his hand on her shoulder, rubbing into it trying to ease her worries.

“What do you think Chat Noir?” Master Fu started to pour tea into the cups he had set out on the table.

“Well. I understand Ladybug’s worries. But I don’t think Hawk Moth could actually use our own knowledge against us. We are protected from falling under his own akumas. Yeah, I’ve been possessed by them many times. But none of them really made me give up information or even my own miraculous. Not that I can recall at least. We’ve both known the identities of two of our teammates and nothing has happened. I don’t know if it can help us protect each other more or less. But I think it shows how much we all can trust each other.” Adrien sighed. 

Master Fu gestured for him to take a cup of tea. 

“Thank you,” Adrien murmured as he grabbed both his own and Ladybug’s cups. He pushed her cup on the back on her hand, signaling to her to grab it. 

“Thanks,” he heard her whisper. 

“The main concern here is this information spilling to Hawk Moth, correct?” Master Fu asked.

“Yes.” Ladybug replied quickly.

“I believe the two of you should talk about this before I put my two cents in. I can only give you food, I cannot make you eat it.” Master Fu stood up with his tea in his hand and walked to the back room, leaving Ladybug and Adrien alone to discuss their own thoughts. 

“Does he want us to come to an agreement or something?” Ladybug turned towards Adrien to face him. 

“I guess so. I don’t think it’s the worst idea for us Bug.” 

Adrien looked down at his lap. He wasn’t sure his Lady would be on board with him. How can they solve this problem right now without revealing themselves? Yeah, they can give Master Fu the miraculous and he can come later to retrieve it, but that doesn’t help his home situation.

“Why do you want to know who Fox and I are? What do you gain from that Chat? You already know who Bee and Turtle are, so it’s not like you’re left out completely like the rest of them are. I just don’t see why we all need to know..” 

Adrien slumped his shoulders. Why did he want to know their identities? At first, he wanted to know Ladybug’s identity because of how much he admired her strength and toughness, but now? It’s more than that. It runs deeper. After working together for so long and expanding the team, expanding the trust, it’s become something deeper. He wants to protect his teammates. He wants them to trust him with their backs. 

“Chat?” 

“Yeah, sorry. Collecting my thoughts…” Adrien sighed. 

“It’s not really that I need to know. I want to know who we all are. We’ve worked so closely together for so long. I think it’ll help us stick up for each other more.” Adrien took a deep breath, “I can’t say that Hawk Moth won’t be able to use it against us. I don’t know for sure. But it’s a risk I think we should take. 5 stronger heroes against 1 seems like good odds to me, don’t you think?”

Adrien turned his head to look at Ladybug. He could see the worry written all over her face. Her hands were slightly trembling as she thought it through. Was his explanation enough? Would she trust him? 

“I think… you have a point. I don’t like it, but I can’t disagree completely. We will see what Master Fu thinks and then we should just have a meeting with all of us again just to be on the same page. It’s not... It’s not that I don’t trust you Chat. I’m just worried about our safety. And how this would affect our team fights. But if this strengthens us, we probably won’t have to fight much longer... Right?” Ladybug turned her torso towards Adrien and laid a hand on his knee, gently squeezing it to reassure her firmness in her answer. 

“I can surely hope so, Ladybug.” Adrien smiled and turned to face where Master Fu walked away. 

“Master Fu, I think we’ve come to an agreement. We would like to trust each other with our identities, but we want to check with you and the others once again.” 

Master Fu walked slowly back to his spot across Adrien and Ladybug, his gears turning as he gently sat down. 

“If Hawk Moth does not know your identities, how can he use this against you? I believe you all are ready to know. You’ve proven that you can work together. I believe this will strengthen your bonds. The order of which, I will not decide. But I hope you can learn to trust each other with this. You have my blessing. Now, about your miraculous Chat Noir. You said you know who has it?”

Adrien nodded as he sipped his tea.

“Can you retrieve it without a hassle?” Master Fu raised his eyebrow.

“I don’t think so. It’s… um…” Adrien shifted uncomfortably. 

Master Fu rose his hand, signaling Adrien to stop talking. 

“It’s someone close to you, is it not?” 

Adrien nodded his head slowly. 

“Hmm,” Master Fu rubbed his chin in thought. “You will have to come back later so we can find a plan for this. We cannot jump ahead of ourselves.” 

Adrien and Ladybug nodded in agreement. 

“I believe it is time for you two to head back to class. I have some sandwiches for you since this has taken time out of your lunch break. I trust if there are any other issues or disagreements that you will be back here for guidance.” Master Fu stood, handing Adrien two baggies with sandwiches in them. 

“Yes, Master Fu. You can bet on it!” Ladybug replied as she stood on her feet. 

Adrien started to walk out the door when he noticed Ladybug was not following him. “Are you coming, my lady?” 

“Uhm… I don’t think it would be smart for me to leave here as Ladybug. So I’m gonna stay here for a little bit to give you a head start. Don’t mind me, we will see each other soon!” Ladybug smiled at Adrien. 

He placed her sandwich in her hands, “See you soon then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, I am sorry. I am horrible.

**Author's Note:**

> please comment :) It'll really help on my end of this.


End file.
